Soluna
by isophia0110
Summary: rewrite-A Whole New Year Two nineteen year olds in search of normality. Normality, an alien concept when there's a tracking anklet and the shadows of the War still there. Another year back at Hogwarts...May the odds be in their favour.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- Soluna's here! *dances* I cannot guarantee my updating schedule but i hope to get this done with this year itself *fingers crossed* I love to write but I hit writer's block quite often and then there's the stupid interventions from RL that keep happening . Anyways.. hope you like the new version!

R&R!

* * *

It had been more than a year since that fateful May day/night that the Chosen One had defeated the greatest and most feared wizard of all time. A year of mourning, of reconciling, of rebuilding and moving on. It had been hard at first, what with all the casualties and the damage, physical, emotional, psychological and financial, suffered by almost every one of the British Wizarding Community. A year was enough for the people to get their lives back on track again, always keeping the ones who gave their lives or fought for, this present of the Magical, alive in their actions and hearts.

The year was one of change, especially for the three who were at the center of it all - Harry Potter and his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley.

After the War was over, each of them had a lot of baggage to deal with, Harry was finally free of the looming shadow that Tom Riddle had always cast on his future and for the first time in three years, he was truly free to do whatever he wished without having to think whether he would even be alive the next morning or not. Ron had to take time to mourn his fallen sibling and the loss of Fred Weasley made the Burrow dimmer than it normally was. For Hermione, it was the loss of the Lupins that hit her quite hard.

The three of them dealt with their demons in their own ways. Harry had been quite affected by all the events of the war, especially the true nature of Severus Snape's loyalty, among other things, and the morning after the death of Voldemort, Harry left Magical Britain without a word to anyone except a goodbye to Ginny and a promise to return soon. His disappearance threw the re-forming Ministry into a tizzy, who could not believe that their hero had just up and left. A couple months later, with numerous enquiries and investigations, Harry Potter simply walked back in on his own, after all efforts if the Ministry to find him had failed.

Only his closest friends knew that he had gone to make amends with Aunt Petunia and Dudley, Uncle Vernon having died during the war, some Death Eaters idea of hitting Harry emotionally to draw him out when the Trio were in hiding, looking for horcruxes. Petunia Dursley had finally come to terms with the reality and welcomed Harry back as her nephew, treating him the way she should have been for over 17 years. The reconciliation and moving back to Privet Drive among visiting the Evans family home, the Potter Mansion and Lily and James Potter's home took the better part of a month and the rest was spent coming to terms with all that had happened and accepting the facts as they were and moving on.

Ron and Hermione did get together after the war, but between dealing with Fred's loss, Hermione leaving to find her parents and Ron's temper, the relationship did not last and they parted ways after a huge quarrel which was the result of Hermione finding a stranger in their bed when she came back from Australia. After their break-up, and Molly's speech, Ron decided to lend his hand to George, when he finally reopened WWW, deciding that it was the best way to honor Fred's memory.

When Hermione had found her parents, she was surprised to see that their memories had already been leaking through as, apparently, when Bellatrix tortured her, the magic assumed that she would die and it started thinning out. However angry the Grangers were when they got their memories back, they decided to stay in Australia, resigning themselves to the fact that their daughter did it for their safety and that she would find them when it was safe again. The Grangers did come back then, and after a much needed tell-all conversation, accepted her reasoning and welcoming her back, began to work on reinstating themselves to the society.

On the day that this story begins, Hermione Granger had just returned from her best friend's birthday party at Grimmauld Place, and exhausted from keeping away from Ron all evening, fell back on her bed with a relieved sigh. She heard the crunch of a paper being crushed and sitting up again, saw that a letter addressed to her was lying on the bed. Surprisingly, it bore the Hogwarts seal. Opening it quickly, she found that the letter had been written and sent by Professor McGonagall, now Headmistress of Hogwarts, informing her that the school was being opened again, and if she so wished, she could return to repeat her last year, as NEWT results were important for securing good jobs in the magical community. She also had the option of just sitting for the examinations if she felt prepared enough and would not have to repeat her year.

The letter brought forth memories of the castle. Her first impression, all the years spent in it, the pranks, the classes, and then the war, the bodies littered around, blood splattered, the magnificent castle turned into rubble at many places. Hermione shook her head to remove the memories and picked up the envelope again, to keep the letter back in, but this time it seemed heavier. Turning it upside down, she found a badge falling from it. Another note accompanied it.

 ** _Hermione, (it read)_**

 ** _If you do decide to come back, the Head's position is yours. I know that coming back may seem harder right now, but it may prove to be cathartic to see the castle in its former glory again._**

 ** _Yours,_**

 ** _Minerva._**

Hermione picked up the badge and grazed her fingers over the 'Head Girl' embossed over it. Thinking over her former Professor's words and the memory of the process of rebuilding the school that she had participated in, all made Hermione decide that a year of normality after the last two years, one fighting and the other get their lives back on track, would do her a world of good. And perhaps, staying there with the constant reminders of the fact that it was all finally over might help her. Also, knowing that Ron would not be there nudged her towards the walls of Hogwarts. Hermione knew that she would miss Harry, who had joined the staff of WWW to stay close to Ginny and enjoy a bit of normality, but the thought of going back to the familiar grounds was sounding more appealing by every passing minute.

Her mind made, Hermione leaped out of her bed and running down the stairs to where her mother was, she shouted, "Mum! I'm going back to Hogwarts next month!"


	2. Chapter 2

The compartment was empty, except for the sole figure seated near the window. She held an open book in her hand, but at the moment her gaze was fixed onto nothing as she stared into space. A light rap on the closed door snapped her out of her reverie and she felt her brow furrow at the sight of the person who stood on the other side of the door.

He slid it open and in a quiet voice, asked, "Is it alright with you if I stay here for the rest of the journey?"

The words were both a surprise and also not, to be coming from the blonde that uttered them, especially towards _Hermione._

She nodded slightly, and watched as he further widened the entry and then sat down gingerly on the opposite seat, his movements cautious, as if expecting her to hex him.

Hermione took note of the page number she had been on and then closed the book. She cocked her head to a side, looking at him as if he was a puzzle to be solved. He fidgeted in place but returned her gaze equally. She shook her head to dispel the thought that had just entered her mind and with a small smile in his direction, went back to reading.

"Granger."

Hermione started at the sound and in a fraction of a second her wand was in her hand.

Draco Malfoy chuckled nervously. "Just wanted to let you know that it's time to get changed."

She blushed slightly at her reflexes and then put the wand away. "Thank you for letting me know."

"Glad to see your action time hasn't lessened." He smirked a little as he got up.

"Well I wouldn't have survived if not for that, now would I?"

He shook his head and then with an apologetic look on his face said, "Yes."

"Not your fault Malfoy. In fact, I know it's been a long time but… Thank you. For that day…"

Both knew which day she was talking about.

His expression grew darker. "I did nothing."

She was standing too by now and reached out as if to place her hand on his arm, but then let it fall when she saw him flinch slightly. "You did what you could have in those circumstances. That was enough. I forgive you Malfoy."

He inhaled sharply as his eyes closed, as if absorbing what she had just said. When he looked at her again, there was gratitude and a hint of peace that shone in his eyes.

The train lurched a bit and Hermione stumbled, only to be caught by a strong arm, he was holding the door with the other. He let go the moment she had gained her balance and then with a frown on his face, said, "Granger… were you crying?"

"Huh?" She brought her hands to her face and sure enough there was some drying wetness there.

She gestured to the book. "Must have happened while reading."

"What were you reading anyways?"

"Just a muggle novel." She shrugged.

"Would you mind telling me its name? I have grown quite fond of muggle novels these past two years."

Hermione drew a quick breath as she suddenly remembered the fact that he had been subjected to house arrest since the war and his parents had been incarcerated.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah… Aunt Andromeda likes bringing me books to read."

Hermione replied simply with, "A Walk to Remember."

"What?"

"The book I was reading. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks."

His eyes widened slightly, probably not expecting her to disregard the fact that he had been technically imprisoned and that he had been on the other side during the war. Inclining his head he said, "Would you mind lending it to me after you're done?"

"Not at all." She smiled.

"Good."

"Good."

It was then they realized that they were still standing and that the compartment was not too big. Hermione sat down quickly and he turned to leave. "See you around Granger."

"See you." She whispered to empty air when the door closed behind him. A shout somewhere down the train of "Hurry up, you git!" broke her line of thought and she reached for her robes to get ready for another year at Hogwarts.

 **A/N- I know that AWtR released in October 1999...forgive me for tweaking the release date a bit *grins sheepishly***

 **thanks for reading!**


End file.
